Welcoming New Ed.D. Faculty Director

The College of Education is excited to welcome new leadership to the Doctorate in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) program as Dr. Vajra Watson begins her role as faculty director. Dr. Watson takes on this role following in the footsteps of the exceptional interim director, Dr. Rose Borunda. Dr. Borunda will serve as the program’s associate director in the coming year.

The Doctoral Program began in 2006 and has graduated nearly 150 students. As the premier doctoral program in the region, she will bring her expertise to the work, with a focus on educational equity, policy studies, and racial justice.

As the UC Davis Director of Research and Policy for Equity for the past twelve years, Watson honed her skills in administration, expanded her scholarly research, and developed bridges between the university, community, and schools. As a prominent scholar, Dr. Watson has authored two books, Learning to Liberate: Community-Based Solutions to the Crisis in Urban Education (2012) and Transformative Schooling: Towards Racial Equity in Education (2018), and has published dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

Watson, ever the community activist, is also the founder of Sacramento Area Youth Speaks (SAYS), a UC Davis sponsored program focusing on social justice that transforms education by breaking the barriers of underachievement. The award-winning program puts community-based, poet-mentor educators into classrooms to help teachers develop instructional styles that reclaim and reimagine schooling. “SAYS supports students as the authors of their own lives and agents of change,” Watson said.

In addition to her work with SAYS, Dr. Watson serves as Board President for United Playaz, a violence prevention and youth leadership organization in San Francisco and is on the board for Kingmakers of Oakland and Fathers and Families of San Joaquin Valley. Nationally, Dr. Watson lends her expertise to the National Urban Education Teacher Policy Project, The People’s Think Tank, and the National Assembly for Expanded Perspectives on Learning.

It’s worth noting that she’s received local and international awards, including: Sacramento’s 40 Under 40 Leadership Award, the Congressional Woman of the Year Award, the NBA Sacramento King’s Woman of the Year Award, and the American Educational Research Association’s Social Impact Award as well as AERA’s Social Justice Leadership Award.

Dr. Watson received her Doctorate in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.

We are confident that she will further develop pathways to a doctoral degree for educational leaders! Join us in welcoming her to Sacramento State University!

Getting your Ed.D.

Interested in finding out more about the Doctorate in Educational Leadership? Dr. Watson hosts regular information sessions reviewing the program details.

View the schedule and RSVP for a session